The new cooking oil is being used in the delis of Fresh Brands' 25 corporate Piggly Wiggly stores in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa for frying chicken, fish and potatoes. Many of Fresh Brands' franchise-operated locations are also making the switch to the new cooking oil.

"We've had tremendous success with consumer satisfaction after the switch to Whole Harvest," said Jim Van Sickle, Fresh Brands' director of deli/bakery. "It's improved the quality of our fried food."

Fresh Brands' switch comes amid a backdrop of nationwide concern regarding the dangers of trans fats. Last year, the New York City Board of Health passed a regulation banning partially hydrogenated frying oils. State legislators in Michigan and Maryland have recently proposed bills banning trans fats, and Los Angeles, Chicago and Austin are just a few of the many cities considering going trans fat free. In February, Philadelphia's city council unanimously passed an ordinance to eliminate artificially produced and heart-attack-inducing trans fat.